Aaron Rodgers Plans to Retire After 2026 NFL Season, Explains Decision to Return to Steelers

Aaron Rodgers is planning to retire after playing out his 22nd NFL season with the Pittsburgh Steelers this fall.

Per ESPN's Brooke Pryor, when asked Wednesday if the 2026 campaign would be his last season in the NFL, Rodgers answered, "Yes."

"This is it," Rodgers added, per The Athletic's Brendan Howe.

The Steelers announced Monday that Rodgers had signed a one-year deal to return for a second season with the franchise.

Rodgers said Wednesday he originally had "some doubt" about whether he would retire, and hadn't made his decision until after the 2026 NFL draft wrapped up in late April.

He added that his final choice was influenced by the Steelers' decision to hire head coach Mike McCarthy, who Rodgers said he initially encouraged general manager Omar Khan to interview.

McCarthy and Rodgers previously spent 13 seasons together on the Green Bay Packers, where the two combined to lead the franchise to a Super Bowl XLV win over the Steelers in 2011.

Rodgers said that prior to McCarthy's hiring he thought his Steelers career would end alongside the departure of former head coach Mike Tomlin, who stepped down after 19 seasons with the team in January.

"I love Mike T. I really appreciate the opportunity to come in last year, and loved my experience with him," Rodgers said. "I thought, when he said he was stepping away, that was an emotional moment just because we love him so much and care about him. I thought that was probably it for me in Pittsburgh. But when the decision was made to hire Mike, that sort of opened my mind to coming back."

Rodgers said there was "a full-circle aspect" to reuniting with McCarthy "that piqued my interest from the start," per NFL.com's Jeremy Bergman.

"It was surreal, honestly... first eight o'clock meeting on Monday took me back to being a 22-year-old kid, sitting in Green Bay, listening to Mike's first meeting in 2006," Rodgers said. "It's fun. It's like pinch-me moments."

Rodgers has been present for OTAs this week. He said Wednesday he'd gotten a chance to throw with Michael Pittman earlier this summer and that he thinks the wideout will "pair well" with DK Metcalf, per Steelers reporter Christopher Carter.

Rodgers threw for 3,322 yards with 24 touchdowns and seven interceptions in his last season with the Steelers, during which he led the team to an AFC North title followed by a divisional round loss.

The Steelers will hope offseason moves including trading for Pittman and signing Rico Dowdle will give Rodgers more weapons as the franchise looks to take advantage of having him under center for his final NFL season.